59-year-old US citizen died while on a dive

A 59-year-old man who is a citizen of the United States had a medical emergency while on a dive with Sam’s Tours on Tuesday last week.

When Island Times reached out to the Director of Bureau of Public Safety (BPS), he couldn’t provide the details as of 13th of May and promised to share the information on the next day even though the incident happened last week.

Dermot Keane, who is a Managing Director at Sam’s Tours, claimed that the victim had over 15 years of diving experience and suffered a medical emergency at the surface.

However, Keane denied any knowledge of prior medical condition of the victim and said, “Nothing was disclosed to Sam’s Tours by the victim other than he was a certified and well experienced diver.”

When asked if Sam’s Tours requested the 59-year-old man to disclose any prior medical condition he might have had before taking him for a dive, Keane did not respond.

Although he added that the victim, whose name has not been revealed, was immediately brought on the dive boat where CPR was performed.

The victim was also transported to Belau National Hospital (BNH) where he was confirmed deceased by the medical staff.

Keane has speculated the possibility of a heart attack and according to him the family wished for no autopsy to be conducted.

Keane also added that the US Embassy provided consular services to the family and a short commemorative service was conducted by other members of the dive group prior to their return home. (By Eshan Kalyanikar)